Finding your dream head hunter

In real estate, the adage to finding your dream house is simple: “Location, location, location.” When it comes to legal career placement, the saying for finding the dream head hunter should be: “Reputation, reputation, reputation.”

Now, before we delve into how exactly we can ascertain a head hunter’s reputation, you may be wondering why this post is even titled “Finding your dream head hunter.” You may be wondering this as you take calls on a daily or weekly basis from head hunters all scrambling for your business. I don’t need to find a head hunter, you say. They need to find me!

It’s true that you can sit back and take a passive approach to this. Entertain calls from head hunters who are all strangers and pick one randomly to assist you. But, let me ask you this: In what other areas of your life, where big decisions are made, do you simply act so blindly? Do you get married without having ever gone out on a date? Do you buy a home without researching all the possibilities? Do you buy a car before test driving it?

Deciding on your next career move is one of the most important decisions of your life, and deciding on who should be there to help you figure that out is equally important. So, as the title of this post suggests, you should proactively find your dream head hunter instead of letting a random stranger find you.

This is not to say that you should ignore unsolicited calls from these strangers. In fact, I would urge you to do the opposite. Talk to them, find out what they know and can offer, figure out how long they’ve been in the business, and simply get to know them. My point is that you should take hold of the reins in this situation. Don’t sit back and let them dictate what you should or shouldn’t do. Take control!

Head hunters that are the best at what they do start calling you early on, when you are merely a first year associate. They know that, in all likelihood, you aren’t going anywhere in the near future. What they are doing, however, is starting to establish a relationship, to set themselves apart from the masses. Most head hunters will call you once, and when you say you aren’t interested, give up and move on down the list. Not so with the best in the business. They know that, eventually, you will in all likelihood leave your firm. How do they know that? They know this because the NALP studies show that over 70% of associates leave their respective Biglaw firms within five years. And unless you are one of the very very few who make partner as a homegrown associate, you will leave. And when you leave, you will need the services of a head hunter.

So a savvy head hunter calls you, starting in your first year, once every few months. You won’t remember his or her name after the first call or the second call. But eventually, you’ll remember having talked to a certain individual. That person will stand out among all the other calls that you’ve received. All of a sudden, that individual will no longer be a stranger. At that moment, a relationship has been created.

Obviously, you shouldn’t select a head hunter purely based on how many times he or she calls. But it’s a good first step. Why? Because someone who establishes that relationship with you understands the industry and how it works. That person is interested in knowing not only your interest in changing firms, but in your impressions of the firm that you are currently with. And that’s important because you are not the only associate that this head hunter is talking to. If he or she obtains valuable information about your experience at your firm, that’s intel that can help him or her decide whether other associates at other firms would want to lateral over to your firm. Conversely, by collecting information about other firms via talking to other associates at those firms, your head hunter is showing the willingness to put in the hours to really dig deep and figure out what’s happening behind the scenes at these firms. Ultimately, that will help the head hunter help you get placed at a firm that is right for you. You may have never thought of head hunter calls in this way, but it’s really a two-way street. They want to know whether you are a future client, but they also want to know what your current experience is like so that it helps them place their current clients.

A great head hunter will also be willing to provide you with a list of references. This list consists of other associates that he or she has successfully placed in the past. Ideally, the list contains some names of people who you know. You may be surprised, but usually the great head hunters have already placed a number of your former colleagues. Here’s a good opportunity to get back in touch with people you once knew at your firm but who had since left. Call them up and ask them about their experiences with that head hunter. There’s no substitute to a personal reference. And this is where the “reputation” part comes in. If someone provides exemplary professional services, he or she will have numerous clients more than willing to serve as a reference and back up that head hunter’s reputation. Stay away from those head hunters who say they cannot provide references due to “confidentiality” reasons. That’s just a shield and double-talk for saying “I have no clients who are willing to vouch for my reputation.”

Finally, you should always meet personally with a head hunter before you retain his or her services. There’s just something about an in-person meeting that you can’t get over the phone. It shows that the head hunter is serious about representing you, and it allows you to evaluate subtle things — mannerisms, attitude, etc. — that may not be as readily apparent over the phone. Make sure you do the in-person meeting PRIOR to submitting any information about yourself, including your resume or CV.

At the end of the day, your decision on which head hunter to use is usually a gut check. You obviously want someone experienced, professional, diligent, trustworthy and knowledgeable about the intimate details of numerous firms in your area of geographical interest. The process that I’ve outlined above will usually get you there, culling through the riffraff naturally to produce one dream head hunter who stands out from the pack.

Good luck with the search!

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3 Responses

I have been a legal recruiter since 1989, and I appreciate the author’s insights. In addition to the excellent points made already, I would recommend being wary of any type of testimonial that you see on a recruiting website.

Keep files on recruiters you have spoken with and feel comfortable with. Also, keep files on those you do not feel comfortable with. If someone makes you feel uncomfortable, do NOT consider working with them under ANY circumstances. Stop taking their calls. Trust your gut.

Barbara, thanks for sharing your observations and insights with us. Individual references are far superior to testimonials, especially since references provide in-depth information about recruiters and how they operate, as opposed to testimonials which tend to be self-serving in nature and do not allow the opportunity for associates to ask the ‘hard’ questions.

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